Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons
Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons is a side-scrolling 3D beat-'em-up game based on both the arcade and NES versions of Double Dragon II: The Revenge, developed by Korean game studio GRAVITY and published by Barunson Creative Co. Ltd. The title was first announced in 2011, but was shelved for release for two years. It was eventually released on April 5, 2013 as a digital download for the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Arcade service. __TOC__ Plot The story basically follows the same plot from the original game, although it adds some slight modifications to the story, including new events and bosses now having more prominent roles. The game starts with a raid by the Black Warriors criminal syndicate on the Sou-Setsu-Ken dojo, owned by twin brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee. While they're absent, Marian (controlled by the player during the tutorial), Billy's girlfriend and instructor at the dojo, is left with no other option than to try to fend off the attack by herself. She manages to keep the attackers at bay for a while, but eventually their leader Willy, a criminal ganglord who has a grudge against the brothers from a previous defeat, brutally shoots her to death. Having returned to the dojo and seeing what had transpired in their absence, the Lee brothers embark on a quest for revenge against Willy and his gang by taking it to the streets and beating down any Black Warriors that dare to stand in their way. After having encounters in several locations (which include a final showdown with Jeff, an old rival), they eventually reach Willy's hideout and take him down. A mysterious dark spirit taking on their image attacks them afterward, but they're able to subdue it as well. Gameplay The object of the game is to defeat waves of enemies until the current area's quota has been fulfilled and then advance some more through the level and repeat the process until reaching the area's end boss, which usually requires a special procedure in order to be defeated. Stages oftentimes contain quick-time-event minigames which the player must successfully complete in order to proceed further. Gameplay is similar to other games of the genre, but with the inclusion of a power bar that allows the player to perform special moves and which depletes a determined amount each time one of them is used (the meter refills itself over time). "Dragon Statues" can be encountered hidden inside environmental objects, such as barrels and crates; these statues will keep changing colors and give the player a specific "special dragon skill" depending on the color it was when picked up, as well as also refilling their health bar. Other power-ups, such as health kits, can be encountered as well. Unlike most beat 'em ups, the player can face in any direction instead of the usual always right or left that doesn't change when moving up or down. Whenever the player is surrounded by enemies, instead of just being able to move out of the way, the player character will first perform a small quick-step in that direction and then start moving, which oftentimes won't be enough to put them out of danger and may even put them in a direr situation. One of the most criticized aspects of the game is that in order to be awarded the good ending, the player is not allowed to perform any special moves throughout the course of the game, even in the tutorial, where the game explicitly teaches and encourages the player to use them, unknowingly assuring them to obtain the bad ending from the beginning. The game also counts with a versus mode where players can go on one-on-one matches by selecting among four available fighters: Billy, Jimmy, Marian and Jeff. Reception The game received extremely negative reviews, with a score of 18.12% on Gamerankings and a score of 17 on Metacritic. It is currently the lowest scoring Xbox 360 game on Metacritic and the sixth lowest game on all platforms. GamesRadar ranked it as the 42nd worst game ever made. The staff compared it unfavorably to the previous Double Dragon Neon. Gallery Dd2wd 1.png Dd2wd 2.png Dd2wd 3.png Dd2wd 4.png Category:Xbox 360 games Category:Xbox Live Arcade games Category:Wander of the Dragons